Swiss schools respond to language gaps, inclusion and AI

Experts answering community questions in an SRF live Q&A outlined how schools in Switzerland are addressing early language development, integration, artificial intelligence and declining reading performance.

Early language support works best in everyday life

Valentin Unger, head of training at the Institute of Educational Psychology at the St Gallen University of Teacher Education, said everyday language support was particularly effective in helping children understand and speak German when they start kindergarten.

Instead of teaching language only in separate lessons, this approach promotes it through activities such as playing and storytelling. Parents can also contribute by having stimulating conversations with their children and looking at books together. Such programmes are well supported by scientific evidence, Unger said.

Integration depends on the conditions

Research does not indicate that inclusive schools lead to poorer class performance, according to Miriam Compagnoni, head of educational sciences at the Zurich University of Teacher Education. Pupils with additional needs often perform better in mainstream schools than in special schools, she said, without reducing the performance of other children.

The outcome depends on factors including the composition of the class and the support available. Compagnoni also stressed that a mainstream class was not automatically the best setting for every child. Many children are still taught in special classes or special schools.

Schools also have a social role beyond academic achievement, she said. Children learn to work with people who are different from them, which is important for integration, understanding and democratic education.

AI should complement people

Josef Buchner, head of research and development at the Institute for Digital and Computing Education at the St Gallen University of Teacher Education, said teacher-training institutions had responded quickly to the development of artificial intelligence.

AI is now part of teacher education, and many further-training programmes are available to practising teachers. Buchner said experts viewed AI not as a replacement for people but as an extension or complement to human abilities. The focus of education and training therefore remained on people.

Declining reading performance raises concern

Although Switzerland continues to perform above average in international comparisons, Unger said reading and mathematics results had declined in recent years. The proportion of young people with inadequate reading skills had also increased.

Recognising these developments is an important first step. Several cantons have responded by making reading an explicit focus of school development, including Lucerne and Bern. Basel-Stadt has introduced systematic early language support.